Jennifer Novascone
01-04-2014, 12:49 PM
Hi all,
It's never too late to change ways for the better. I thought I'd share this with others who want to learn.
Below is a verbatim excerpt which I read this morning FROM: www.GentleWorld.org (https://www.GentleWorld.org). The article caused me to re-think about the plight of our honey bees and the devastating fall off in honey bee population, including understanding cause and effect relationship. So, among other 2014 resolutions, I will not be using honey any longer in my diet. The article below explains why.
EXCERPT BEGIN: "Unfortunately, like factory farmers, many beekeepers take inhumane steps to ensure personal safety and reach production quotas. It’s not unusual for larger honey producers to cut off the queen bee’s wings so that she can’t leave the colony or to have her artificially inseminated on a bee-sized version of the factory farm “rape rack.” When the keeper wants to move a queen to a new colony, she is carried with “bodyguard” bees, all of whom—if they survive transport—will be killed by bees in the new colony. Large commercial operations may also take all the honey instead of leaving the 60 pounds or so that bees need to get through the winter. They replace the rich honey with a cheap sugar substitute that is not as fortifying. In colder areas, if the keepers consider it too costly to keep the bees alive through the winter, they destroy the hives by pouring gasoline on them and setting them on fire. Also, bees are often killed or have their wings and legs torn off by haphazard handling. According to the Cook-DuPage Beekeepers Association, humans have been using honey since about 15,000 B.C., but it wasn’t until the 20th century that people turned bees into factory-farmed animals. Happily, many sweeteners are made without killing bees: Rice syrup, molasses, sorghum, Sucanat, barley malt, maple syrup, cane sugar, and dried fruit or fruit concentrates can replace honey in recipes. Using these will keep your diet bee-free". END EXCERPT:
Now I know that perhaps using other forms of sweeteners may cause other environmental harmful effects, as well, such as cradle to grave production methods. So, I'm not naive to the big picture. Heck, I realize there are millions of cause and effect relationships between man and nature... nature and animal, nature and nature (LOL) etc. We could go on and on, right? However, I have to pick and choose my values. The best I can do is attempt to stay informed.
Best,
Jennifer
It's never too late to change ways for the better. I thought I'd share this with others who want to learn.
Below is a verbatim excerpt which I read this morning FROM: www.GentleWorld.org (https://www.GentleWorld.org). The article caused me to re-think about the plight of our honey bees and the devastating fall off in honey bee population, including understanding cause and effect relationship. So, among other 2014 resolutions, I will not be using honey any longer in my diet. The article below explains why.
EXCERPT BEGIN: "Unfortunately, like factory farmers, many beekeepers take inhumane steps to ensure personal safety and reach production quotas. It’s not unusual for larger honey producers to cut off the queen bee’s wings so that she can’t leave the colony or to have her artificially inseminated on a bee-sized version of the factory farm “rape rack.” When the keeper wants to move a queen to a new colony, she is carried with “bodyguard” bees, all of whom—if they survive transport—will be killed by bees in the new colony. Large commercial operations may also take all the honey instead of leaving the 60 pounds or so that bees need to get through the winter. They replace the rich honey with a cheap sugar substitute that is not as fortifying. In colder areas, if the keepers consider it too costly to keep the bees alive through the winter, they destroy the hives by pouring gasoline on them and setting them on fire. Also, bees are often killed or have their wings and legs torn off by haphazard handling. According to the Cook-DuPage Beekeepers Association, humans have been using honey since about 15,000 B.C., but it wasn’t until the 20th century that people turned bees into factory-farmed animals. Happily, many sweeteners are made without killing bees: Rice syrup, molasses, sorghum, Sucanat, barley malt, maple syrup, cane sugar, and dried fruit or fruit concentrates can replace honey in recipes. Using these will keep your diet bee-free". END EXCERPT:
Now I know that perhaps using other forms of sweeteners may cause other environmental harmful effects, as well, such as cradle to grave production methods. So, I'm not naive to the big picture. Heck, I realize there are millions of cause and effect relationships between man and nature... nature and animal, nature and nature (LOL) etc. We could go on and on, right? However, I have to pick and choose my values. The best I can do is attempt to stay informed.
Best,
Jennifer